Dame Maggie Smith has admitted she has never seen Downton Abbey (Picture: ITV)

Dame Maggie Smith has admitted that she is unable to watch herself in Downton Abbey due to being too critical of her own performances.

The veteran actress – who recently picked up a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the ITV1 hit – made the astonishing confession in an interview with US TV show 60 Minutes.

However she did admit that she might catch up on the series once it had ended for good.

‘I’ve never actually seen it,’ she said when asked if she was proud of the show. ‘I don’t sit down and watch it. I’ve never watched it.’

When pressed further, with presenter Steve Kroft saying she could be the only person in the UK who hadn’t, Smith added: ‘I will look at it when it’s all over because it’s frustrating.

Maggie Smith recently appeared on the big screen in Quartet (Picture: Momentum Films)

‘I always see things that I would like to do differently and think, “Oh why in the name of God did I do that”?’

She added that she still gained enjoyment from the show despite not watching it, simply from ‘the delight of acting’.

Smith, 78, – who was seen on the big screen last month in the comedy-drama Quartet – recently confirmed she would return for the fourth series of Downton, ending speculation that she would not be back.

She was last seen in the show’s Christmas special, which left viewers shocked with the sudden death of Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens.